Orthodox Pascha
Pascha, the Resurrection of Christ, is the feast the whole Orthodox year is measured from. Here is its date, year by year, and the cycle it moves.
Orthodox Easter, Pascha, falls on a Sunday between April 4 and May 8. It is reckoned by the Julian paschalion, so it often comes later than Western Easter, and in some years on the same day. The date for every year from 2026 to 2050 is below.
Reckoning the date…
Why Orthodox Easter differs from Western Easter
The dates here follow the Julian paschalion. It uses a calculated ecclesiastical full moon and March 21 on the Julian calendar as the equinox. Western Easter uses Gregorian calendar tables, so the results often differ. Neither calculation depends on the date of modern Jewish Passover.
Because Pascha moves, the whole moveable cycle moves with it: the opening of the Triodion, Great Lent, Palm Sunday, the Ascension, and Pentecost are all counted from Pascha, the same for New- and Old-Calendar Orthodox alike.
Pascha, 2026 to 2050
| Year | Orthodox Pascha |
|---|---|
| 2026 | April 12 |
| 2027 | May 2 |
| 2028 | April 16 |
| 2029 | April 8 |
| 2030 | April 28 |
| 2031 | April 13 |
| 2032 | May 2 |
| 2033 | April 24 |
| 2034 | April 9 |
| 2035 | April 29 |
| 2036 | April 20 |
| 2037 | April 5 |
| 2038 | April 25 |
| 2039 | April 17 |
| 2040 | May 6 |
| 2041 | April 21 |
| 2042 | April 13 |
| 2043 | May 3 |
| 2044 | April 24 |
| 2045 | April 9 |
| 2046 | April 29 |
| 2047 | April 21 |
| 2048 | April 5 |
| 2049 | April 25 |
| 2050 | April 17 |
Questions about the date of Pascha
When is Orthodox Easter?
Orthodox Easter, Pascha, falls on a Sunday between April 4 and May 8. In 2027, it is on Sunday, May 2.
Why is Orthodox Easter on a different date from Western Easter?
Orthodox Easter follows the Julian paschalion, which uses a calculated ecclesiastical full moon and March 21 on the Julian calendar as the equinox. Western Easter uses Gregorian calendar tables, so the results often differ. Neither calculation depends on the date of modern Jewish Passover.
Do New Calendar and Old Calendar Orthodox keep Easter on the same day?
Yes, apart from the Church of Finland, which keeps the Western date. New and Old Calendar Orthodox alike reckon Pascha the same way, and with it the whole moveable cycle, from the Triodion to Pentecost.
The date is one thing; the feast is another. Read about Pascha, the Feast of Feasts ›